Oh dear! I may have found a new addiction.

Let me start by showing my version of WMK's cake

Cleverly I made it after the childer were in bed b/c that way it would be safe and ready for lunch the following day. HA! CK and I didn't even wait for it to get cold but burned our fingers on straight from the oven strawberries. I love this cake. I love the taste, simplicity and versatility of this cake. I LOVE that I finally have found a recipe for Strawberry Cake after searching the innernets last Summer.

Thank you a gazillionty times WMK.

In the last few months I have realised that perhaps (just this once) CK is right.

I have an addiction.


My addiction revolves around anything which requires the purchasing of many colours of items to be used in alleviating the symptoms.


For years he has put up with the paints, brushes, blanks and assorted paraphernalia that go with painting as a hobby. In fact quantities reached such levels that one Summer he and Babyman built me La Villa de Lamaca to house all the assorted bits of A.C. (ref: above to dictionary). Literally I now cannot get in the door! (this is the bit where I hang my head in shame and don't show you any pictures b/c it really is true.)



Then I rediscovered cross-stitching. I collected magazines and aida cloth and bobbins to hold the five hundred different colours of cotton floss. But I stopped b/c after a half dozen stitches I fall asleep every single time.






A few visits back Sylv taught Princess Curly-Wurly to knit. I couldn't help myself and she wasn't showing interest in the knitted monkey kit friends had given her for Christmas slowly and steadily I re-introduced myself to the world of knitting. And a whole new avenue of colour application appeared before me. Not just yarn but needles, stitch markers, magazines and patterns.

This is the bag I have been knitting with the fab yarn sent to me by my gorgeous hot cocoa swapper. I just need to add the webbing around the top (I tried once and the thread was very unpleasant to work with - it can go into the 'soon' pile. )

This was sooo much fun and soooo easy to make I have bought more cotton to with which to make presents.

This in turn lead to the delightful craft-filled corner of the blogosphere I now inhabit. Here I am not only among those who appreciate and understand these colour addictions but enable me to explore them further. At first it was just with a camera but then textiles began to call to me.



And what fabric! At first it was just excitement b/c Lucy Locket had arranged a quilt swap (please read on to be amazed by the skill and cleverness of my talented swappee - the delightful Miss Kitty Wrinkle!) but then I finally got my Paypal account working.



How cute are these?!



I may have mentioned I have a love for here and after an afternoon of decadence there and reading this on the way home I decided to make a quilt. A Fortnum & Mason's quilt. So then I bought these.




And these.



*Sigh* I could just look at all these for hours. But now I have them I shall have to do something with them I suppose.


But here is the really big news. My favourite ever mini-quilt swapper got all organised and ahead of herself (b/c you know, we weren't going to swap anything until Christmas!) and this piece of fabric gorgeousness found its way to my house today. (CK grabbed it from the postman b/c my evil black dog has a reputation!!). Miss Kitty has made Trash Towers on top of the Hill!



I love this so much I slept with it this afternoon. Seriously! Well, it was on the couch when I fell asleep and do you know? I'm sure it gave me some triffic dreams b/c the colours could not be more perfect and Princess C-Dub was soooo excited to see the flowers - she is all about the poppies that girl!


Thank you a hundred thousand million times Kitty and as I said in my email I will be crawling off to hide from the quilt police b/c I am now to embarrassed to send mine off.






Oh, and CK got up first the next day so the childer had cake for breakfast!

Have you ever joined in? part 2 (Or - why I love our school vicar.)

As I may have mentioned in the past organised religion and I have agreed to disagree on far too many points to enumerate but.... if anything/one makes me wish I had faith and religious belief it is our Vicar Anne.


As well as all her other parochial duties she spends much time with the children, attending and taking part in as many events as possible throughout the school year. At the end of every service she has them joins hands and say the final grace, not too unusual, right? But they all crouch down and jump up high shouting 'Amen' , at which point her dog, Coffee, starts barking wildly and drags whichever student has hold of her out into the aisle.

Her Christmas services are the thing of legend involving a cast of thousands and more angels and shepherds than possibly have ever existed. A few Christmases ago her microphone was left on while getting ready in the vestry and people were crying with laughter, even before the bit where Coffee ate the Nativity.

The culmination of WWII week was the V.E. day picnic on Thursday. Along with gazillionty parents and extended families Anne was there (without her new dog, Holly, of course - all that picnic food? Too tempting!) in 1940s stylee dress.


I was assured the bottle contained water!


These are some of my favourite shots from a fab afternoon.


How sweet is this? This was as high as she got in her handstand. Too cute for words.




These are the shoes I wore - walking down a steep hill, up a grassy bank and over uneven ground!! Please bear in mind my shoes are normally less than ground level - How amazing am I? The knitting is my current W.I.P., a baby cardigan from Debbie Bliss CashMerino. It is for a tropical friend for use in an Australian Summer/Autumn so I bought Rowan super-whizzy cotton/silk/viscose yarn and the feel of the finished pieces is amazing. More pictures another time.




A few of the teachers all dressed up 1940s stylee and in full gossip. The scarey looking one in pink in the middle is Snotty Teacher.



This is a 240 degree view from our school field. This alone was reason for sending Princess C-W and Babyman here.

Have you ever joined in? (Or - the day my kids went away!)

As I may have mentioned previously we had WWII week at school last week.



My childer were evacuated.

What a sombre pair!

I don't think they are looking forward to this.

I'm lobbying to have 1940s garb instated as school uniform.

Aren't these guys gorgeous?

Babyman became more relaxed as the day went on.

It was a morning of mixed emotion waving goodbye to my boy as he was 'evacuated'. Fortunately I wasn't the mother watching whose child was sobbing against the coach window. That made it just a little too realistic.

Princess C-W's timewarp.

We went to a castle on the weekend. My longest-ever-friendship friend was here this weekend and she asked to see what it was about the county that made me want to live here.

So with the fabulous weather on Sunday we went to my favourite castle in the world ever. It is so super famous the real Robin Hood even came here! I know b/c I saw it in 'Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves'.

Despite the little English Heritage man trying to sell us membership (inc. my friend from Australia!) we had a fabulous time b/c there was a living history event. Princess C-W was the only one brave enough to step forward when the nice lady from 1642 was asking for a child to volunteer.

She started with a shift



And then after the bumroll (they were all about the hippy look in the 17thC!) she was engulfed by a massive skirt.

The finishing touches - apron, waistcoat/bodice thing - and then a hat. The nice lady started by getting the child's hat out and I had to tell her it wouldn't fit. Obviously she didn't believe me b/c she gave it several goes before getting the grown-up's one.

And then we end up with this.



Isn't it fabulous?

Babyman had had enough by this point and was off! Notice how she just walks up? Apparently she was being careful b/c she didn't want to fall!



After a lovely lunch (roast beef - mmmmmmm) we unintentionally took a very circuitous route all the way to the other end of the county to see the Willy Man (as he is known at our house!)



Followed up by a quick game of Poohsticks and we were good for finishing our weekend of visitors.

It was an accident!

I was tidying Pr.C-W's brownie kit (b/c I am her slave)just now and on opening her brownie bag found a fab notebook which had been a birthday present. I had to move it to fit bits in and it opened in my hand.

Wanna see to what page?



I didn't mean to read through her diary but now i've seen this I think turn about is fair play!

This is such a fabulous find. Anyone able to decipher what she is 'watching on the computer!'?


Hahahahaha - programmes with swearing in! hahahahaha!!

Sunny weather lives. (Or my week in pictures) Part two.

We had picnics out in the garden several days this week.

Isn't this just what little girls should do in hot weather?



We all got a little wet. Except the littlest. She got soaked.



This was pouring cappucinos.




In a joint effort, Team Babyman (CK, myself and Babyman) made a 'basketball' ring (the tennis ball fits through if it breathes in!)

As the wind picked up yesterday there was a lot of floating around the garden, dancing with scarves. The grass out the front looks like Salome and ALL her sisters danced at once!



Blackdog joined in the crazy tarantala merriment and got his own groove on.



And this? This arrived in the post yesterday - there will be more about its contents another day......

Sunny weather lives. (Or 'My week so far in pictures.) Part One.

Sunday was a mooching kind of day here at Trash Towers.


Once the gymnastics show was completed (we had ringside seats complete with refreshments laid on!) I strolled around the garden for a little constructive deheading but the light was so fabulous I played with my camera instead.




Other than pretty I don't know what these are!

I love Aqualegias.

I don't love the dandelions but I do like the bugs they bring.(organic/ecologically sound garden is a boon to the lazy!)

Isn't this the most fabulous colourway? Not a scrap of artifice in this picture anywhere!



Then there was sufficient time for a spot of archaelogy before lunch. With the green sandstone from around here they might find all sorts!

About ten minutes after this picture was taken CK sliced everything bald with the lawnmower so sadly these little weedy daisies are no more but they sure were pretty.



Things just kept getting better this week. Monday the postie brought a box from

What a kind and generous person is the 'Rather Silly Lauren Bergold'. As a thank you for my soooo late arriving 'birthday bash' prize she sent me something I have always wanted.


Yep. Boneless pork chops. "Perfect!" I thought to myself. "That's dinner sorted for tonight." I was a little sad though because I hadn't realised opening the packaging of my lovely pork chops how strong pigs were in the States :-( (fortunately I am the proud possessor of three pairs of kitchen scissors soI'm ok so long as the pigs stay in the US!)



Then when I opened the box, my frown turned upside down and became a smile :-)
"Perfect!" I thought to myself. "That's dinner sorted for tonight." Because inside was a whole bag of Jolly Ranchers. MMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmMMMMMMM. The bowl isn't so full anymore.